William Dawson Breland III
Agency patch
Patrolman

William Dawson Breland III

Walterboro Police Department — Walterboro, SC
Accident
End of Watch October 15, 1978
Age 22
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
The Vigil Panel 120 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman William Breland was killed in an automobile accident during a vehicle pursuit. Patrolman Breland had served with the Walterboro Police Department for two years.

Survivors

He was survived by his mother, stepfather, and siblings.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-B31A4847
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Breland gave the Walterboro Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Walterboro community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Breland.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Walterboro, Colleton County, SC
Platform Identity wpd.colleton.sc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 15, 1978
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
Age 22
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Automobile

Patrolman William Dawson Breland III is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In SC, 138 of 441 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.3% of this state's fallen. That is 31.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Walterboro Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Walterboro Police Department
2
of 3 officers
66.7% Accident
SC — Statewide
138
of 441 officers
31.3% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Dawson Breland III's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How William Dawson Breland III Compares

Age at Death
22
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
2
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Dawson Breland III is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Walterboro Police Department are honored on badge.nw.